Rating:
  Review Date: January 22, 2008
  Website: ScholarMan Website
  Label: Soganic Music

ScholarMan “Soul Purpose” Album Review
I just knew that ScholarMan’s third album, “Soul Purpose,” was going to be dope. What I didn’t know was how much the album would surprise me. Now don’t get me wrong: It doesn’t surprise me that this album has dope lyrics, because ScholarMan’s 2006 release, “The X Files,” had dope lyrics. It doesn’t surprise me that this album has dope production, because ScholarMan’s 2007 release, “Candy Medicine,” had dope production. However, ScholarMan still managed to surprise me with “Soul Purpose.” (more…)

On this day in which our entire nation and the rest of the world takes a moment to commemorate and honor the life and accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we should all remember the many visionary principals of equality, harmony and peace that he put forth.

While the achievements of his lifelong fight for racial equality in the United States are well documented, Dr. King’s fight for world peace and tolerance on an international level often takes a second seat in the history books. (more…)

Kevin Sylvester (a/k/a Kev Marcus) has fond memories of James Miles, the orchestra teacher at Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale. Sylvester attended the school with his friend, Wilner Baptiste, also known as Wil b.

“He is the one who got it in my head that we could do something different,” Sylvester said of Miles. “We were classically trained, and playing classical stuff. He didn’t push us to go outside of that, but he did push us to be better.’’ (more…)

Ann Arbor, MI – The ensemble that takes the stage Monday on Monday at Hill Auditorium is being billed as the Mos Def Big Band. The big question that hip-hop fans may have is about the “big band” moniker – which usually suggests something in a jazzy vein.

But hard-core Mos fans needn’t worry that this is going to be some hybrid of hip-hop and Count Basie. The “big band” appellation in this case is a reference to the fact that Mos will have a number of live musicians onstage, including horn players. That’s a departure from many hip-hop shows, which typically comprise just the rapper, a DJ and someone triggering computerized samples. (more…)

A People’s Peace Conference, entitled “The Grassroots Speak” and focused on the war against poor and oppressed people at home and abroad, will be held on Jan. 19 at Rutgers Law School in Newark, N.J.

The conference is being sponsored by the Peace and Justice Coalition, a year-old formation of more than 120 organizations working to end the war and promote social, racial, economic, health and environmental justice. (more…)

Birmingham, AL – For some people, the term “hip-hop generation” probably conjures up images of teenagers with baggy pants and backwards hats listening to loud obnoxious music. Or worse, the phrase might bring to mind criminal mischief, some kind of gritty thug life replete with guns and drugs. Unfortunately, what doesn’t come to mind is political activism, community organization and social justice.

But Rev. Lennox Yearwood is looking to change that. Back in 2004, the Louisiana native founded a national, nonpartisan nonprofit organization called the Hip-Hop Caucus — in part to change how America perceives young African-Americans, but, more importantly, to change how members of this group view themselves. (more…)

  Rating:
  Review Date: January 17, 2008
  Website: Scanz Website
  Label: Rawkus Records

Scanz “Prelude To A Legacy” Album Review
I’ve heard a lot of people complain about the Rawkus 50 – a list of the 50 hottest artists in underground hip-hop today. They say the whole thing was a scheme created by Rawkus Records to build their online community. They say Rawkus just picked the 50 artists with the most MySpace friends in an attempt to tap into established fanbases. And in return, they say Rawkus only offered digital distribution to their top 50, something anyone can accomplish these days. (more…)

Hip-hop artists from the U.S., U.K., Japan and Europe have collaborated on a one-off music video to protest the continued presence of U.S. troops in Iraq. The video was released today online, with additional broadcasts planned for other cross-channel digital media platforms. (more…)

Just a week before celebrating the anniversary of the birth of our nation’s civil rights pioneer, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the unnecessary and divisive topic of race has now reared its ugly head in the Democratic presidential campaign.

Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) have begun a destructive spat that started last week after some comments were made by former President Bill Clinton. Both the Clinton and Obama camps are insinuating that the other is injecting race into the presidential equation, but who is really playing the race card? (more…)